Continuous wave (CW) spectrophotometers, time resolved (TRS/Pulse), phase -modulation (PMS) and phased array spectrophotometers are all known to have application to medicine. These systems depend upon the ability to couple light into tissue from a light source and to couple light from the tissue to a spaced detector. The difference in the flash produced on the photon migration paltorn by abnormality and normal conditions in the body due to different scattering and absorption of the light produce effects that, in principle, enable the use of spectrophotometric examination of the brain is seen as particularly appropriate for the detection of abnormal conditions, in the brain, especially hematoma but also vascular conditions, tumor, and metabolic conditions. Likewise, examination of breast, testicle and muscle is appropriate.
For practical use in medicine, improvement in optical coupling to the subject, is needed to enable these types of spectrophotometric examination to be widely accepted for clinical or home use.
According to one aspect of the invention, an input or output optical coupler device for transmitting photons between an optical source or detector and the brain, or other part of the body, comprises an array of optical fibers with end portions that freely protrude as cantilevers from a support in the manner of bristles from a hairbrush, the end regions of the fibers sized and distributed to penetrate freely extending hair on the head or other surface of the subject to make optical contact over an array of points with the surface of the skin or scalp, below the free hair.
Preferred embodiments of this aspect of the invention have one or more of the following features.
An examination device is associated with source and detector in which a set of optical fibers of the hairbrush transmits light to the scalp of a subject from the source, and a set of optical fibers of the hairbrush receives light from the scalp at known distance from the source fibers for transmission to the detector.
The fibers have smooth, enlarged tips that comfortably engage the skin or scalp.
The fibers are resiliently flexible laterally to bend and conform the pattern of fiber tips to variations in the shape of the skull, breast or other portion of the body.
The freely extending end portions of the fibers have a length to diameter ratio of between about 5 and 200. In preferred cases the ratio is between 20 and 150, while in other cases between 50 and 125.
The free end portions of the optical fibers have diameter of the order of 0.1 to 3.0 millimeter and have a length between about 0.5 to 3 cm.
The free end portions of the optical fibers have diameter of about 0.2 to 0.5 millimeter and length between about 1 and 2.5 cm.
The coupler device is constructed as a handheld probe, being sized and configured to be moved and placed against the front, sides and top of the head.
The coupler device is constructed as a handheld probe, being sized and configured to be moved and placed against the inside or outside surfaces of the breast.
The coupler device has fibers disposed in a two dimensional array, each fiber or small groupings of the fibers being associated with a discrete detector so that fiber tips simultaneously engage an area of the subject sufficient to provide data to enable processing to provide a back projection image.
One or a set of coupler devices, as part of a helmet or brassier, have sets of fibers arranged to simultaneously, or sequentially engage front, sides and top of the portion of the head or breast being examined.
In another aspect, the coupler is a conformable brush of fine fibers suitable to be applied to breast, testicles, arm or leg.
Other aspects of the invention comprise a hematoma detector or monitor, a tumor detector, a spectrophotometric imager or a metabolic condition monitor employing the brush coupler or other aspects of the devices shown.